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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

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TV Series Review

New York City is not the easiest place to make a go of things, even under the best of circumstances. And let's face it: Being literally stuck in a hole in the ground for the last 15 years isn't gonna help the acclimation process.

But, hey, when you're Kimmy Schmidt and you've already survived a doomsday cult, what's the worst the Big Apple can throw at you? Lots of little apple chunks? Maybe a pie? Or even a worm or two? Pish. It'll take more than a random Red Delicious to dampen her spirits.

Netflix's Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a strange, problematic and surprisingly optimistic comedy from the ever fertile minds of Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (executive producers of 30 Rock). And while its premise—small-town-hick-goes-to-the-big-city-and-teaches-it-a-thing-or-two—has been explored dozens of times before, from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Crocodile Dundee, the I've-been-trapped-in-a-cult-and-just-got-out setup feels quirky and different.

A Light Dark Comedy

Kimmy was dragged into that doomsday cult when she was in the eighth grade, ensnared by the nefarious Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, aka the worst wedding DJ in Durnsville, Indiana. For the whole of the 21st century, she's been stuck in an underground bunker with him and three other women, believing what the guy says about God destroying the outside world because its people were "dumb and bad."

Well, a quick visit by a SWAT team puts that little rumor to rest. Turns out the world's just fine, if a little frayed around the edges. And Kimmy—a glass-half-full sort anyway, is determined to experience all of America's joys that've been hidden away from her for so long. Before you can even remember what that Heaven's Gate thing was all about, Kimmy finds a roommate (struggling actor/singer Titus), a job (serving as a utility helpmate to pampered Jacqueline and her bratty offspring) and a whole new hometown where she won't be constantly looked at as a victim.

Kimmy brings wit and charm and doses of endearing naiveté to the proceedings, playing a hapless-yet-not-helpless young woman who faces both her past demons and present trials with an unflagging smile. Even the episode titles with their excited exclamation marks ("Kimmy Gets a Job!" "Kimmy Is Bad at Math!") reflect the girl's boundless enthusiasm. As the writers studiously take funny jabs (some of them illuminating, some of them inappropriate) at social issues such as race and self-worth, Kimmy preaches that beauty is inside out, not outside in, and that we should always, always keep trying no matter what.

"I'm more than the one terrible thing that's happened to me!" she tells her long-lost mother in a Season 2 episode. "Exactly!" her mom says. "I'm all the terrible things that have happened to me!"

Breaking Kimmy Schmidt

It's exactly that kind of show, full of optimism, humor and a dark, cogent realism, buoyant and … troubling, both in terms of tone and content. We hear about some discomfiting sexual fetishes as the series repeatedly mines sex for laughs. Titus is flamboyantly gay, and the subject of his sexuality comes up quite a lot, along with sly winks at such things as prostitution and even bestiality. And, of course, the story is set up with the subject of Kimmy's 15 years of sexual slavery.

When Business Insider asked the cast what gags made it into the show on Netflix that surely would've been cut had it stayed on NBC (where it was originally set to air), they had plenty to talk about. Fey and Carlock are known for smart comedy—and these days that means they're also known for crass comedy. Clearly, Kimmy's not averse to bending a few rules as she proves to the world that she's not a breakable girl.

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Positive Elements

Spiritual Content

Sexual Content

Violent Content

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other Negative Elements

Conclusion

Pro-social Content

Objectionable Content

Summary Advisory

Plot Summary

Christian Beliefs

Other Belief Systems

Authority Roles

Profanity/Violence

Kissing/Sex/Homosexuality

Discussion Topics

Additional Comments/Notes

Episode Reviews

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Apr. 15, 2016 "Kimmy Finds Her Mom!"

Kimmy finds her mom at Universal's theme park in Orlando and decides to confront her for A) being a less-than-ideal mother, and B) not searching for Kimmy long enough. Meanwhile, Titus goes to Florida with Kimmy to take a job as a cruise ship entertainer. (He chickens out.)

Titus takes a detour to Titusville after praying to "Black Jesus from the Madonna 'Like a Prayer' video" to give him a sign. Jacqueline hosts the boorish family of her new squeeze, Russ, but is horrified to learn that the family owns the Washington Redskins. (A smattering of race-related jokes follow.) Titus fantasizes about hooking up with Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid. Kimmy's captor calls from prison, asking for a "divorce" so he can remarry. There's a quip about the meaning of Sheena Easton's song "Sugar Walls."

We see the scar from a decapitation. (Yes, a decapitation.) Kimmy runs over at least 12 alligators on her way to Orlando. Her mother shoots margarita into her mouth with a water gun. In a coupon book that Kimmy made her mother before she was kidnapped, there's an offer for a cigarette. Kimmy's landlady, disturbed that the neighborhood is getting progressively less "weird and dangerous," drinks whiskey and tosses a beer can onto the sidewalk (which is promptly recycled by a passerby). She and a couple of other women toast with glasses of wine.

"D--n," "a--" and "pr--k" are blurted out, along with three misuses of God's name. We hear "jeez" and Kimmy's favorite profanity, the f-word stand-in "fudge."

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Unbreakable-Kimmy-Schmidt: 3-6-2015

"Kimmy Goes Outside!"

Kimmy and her three longtime roommates are rescued from their doomsday bunker and go on the Today show. Kimmy likes New York so much she decides to stay there.

Her new roommate, Titus, is described as "very gay" by the building's owner. And we see him pick up another man when he and Kimmy go to a nightclub. Kimmy, meanwhile, eagerly invites a strange guy to kiss her so as to make up for lost time on the open market. She admits that there was "weird sex" in the bunker.

In flashback, we see the cult leader tell the women that God thinks they (and the rest of humanity) are "dumb" and "stupid," which was the reason he says everyone else was exterminated in "lakes of fire and stuff." There are a few drug references. We see partyers drinking. We hear "h---," "b--ch" and "d--n" (once or twice each). God's name is misused a handful of times.

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